Concept Cartoons Research

Concept Cartoons were developed by Brenda Keogh and Stuart Naylor in 1991 as a strategy to elicit learners’ ideas, challenge their ideas and provide pointers for how those ideas might be developed. (see Concept Cartoon project). Their research analyses the effectiveness of Concept Cartoons as a strategy for teaching, learning and assessment in classrooms and for adult learners such as student teachers. Their research includes a doctoral study carried out by Brigid Downing, where a focus on argumentation provided more detailed data on pupil talk and argumentation (see Argumentation research). The initial focus for their research into Concept Cartoons was science education. Research questions include:

How engaged are learners when Concept Cartoons are used?

How effective are Concept Cartoons for eliciting learners’ ideas, challenging their ideas and helping them to decide how to test their ideas?

How effectively do Concept Cartoons link together the process of finding out and developing learners’ ideas?

How easy is it to use Concept Cartoons in science lessons?

How well do they support argumentation?

What is talk and argument like when Concept Cartoons are used?

Data were collected through questionnaires, written feedback, interviews, and classroom observation from teachers and student teachers. The main findings show that Concept Cartoons are:

highly motivating across all age ranges and with learners of different levels of understanding

effective at both revealing and challenging learners’ ideas, and linking together the process of elicitation and restructuring ideas

effective in integrating learning and assessment into a single strategy

viewed as very easy to manage in the classroom and potentially offering a valuable strategy for differentiation

able to influence teachers’ practice without the need for extensive professional development